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Comment by Kluny | Hacker News Reader

I also know a guy who made his living for many years repairing and reselling iPhones, who simply buys the top of the line as soon as it comes out and resells the old one to pay for it, at as close to full price as he can get away with. Since he always gets the most specc'd out phone available, treats it very carefully, always inside an otterbox, and is a pretty decent salesman, he usually gets his price. He also claims it as a tax write-off - business expense.

In that way I think he ends up paying maybe $200 every other year for his new phone. In the last 6 years I've spent WAY more than that on the Androids I used to get and break/lose every year or so. I've finally seen the light and got an iPhone myself and plan to adopt the same strategy.

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A good strategy, however he is not really the owner of the phone. He is essentially renting it from the next buyer.

One consequence is that he has no option but treat is carefully, use a case, a screen protector, etc.. which is kind of ironic considering how much effort is put on the exterior design of the phone.

Selling the phone also has a non-zero cost : you have to find a buyer and make the transaction. In that guy's case, when he sells his own iPhone, he doesn't sell something else from his shop. And he has the advantage of being an experienced salesman and having a shop.

As for the tax write-off, sure, but I suppose that if you write off your phone as a business expense, you also need to declare the sale as business income. I doubt it is as straightforward as one may think. That guy, who is presumably a business owner, probably has an accountant to deal with such issues.

What I am trying to say is that that guy strategy probably works very well for him but how it will work for you is another story.

> One consequence is that he has no option but treat is carefully, use a case, a screen protector, etc.. which is kind of ironic considering how much effort is put on the exterior design of the phone.

Yeah, but I do that too regardless of whether I'm planning to resell it, because cracked screens are a pain in the ass and that applies to any phone.

> Selling the phone also has a non-zero cost : you have to find a buyer and make the transaction. In that guy's case, when he sells his own iPhone, he doesn't sell something else from his shop. And he has the advantage of being an experienced salesman and having a shop.

He actually just sells them on facebook. He does have a shop, but he's not in the iPhone business anymore - he has a car dealership. Like I said, good salesman! He's the most active facebook user I've ever encountered, so he may be paying his "shop" rent that way.

I suspect the strategy won't work quite as well for me - but I think I can expect to pay the same $2-400 every 1-2 years that I have been paying, plus I get an iPhone instead of a cheap Android. I didn't think it would win me over, but it has.

I, too, like to avoid cracked screens the best I can – with reasonable precaution. I'm not going to wrap an already big phone in an even bigger case to make it a bigger nuisance every single day.

(I also don't buy the hassle of using screen protectors. I do not mind micro scratches all that much because I'm not trying to protect the resale value of a consumable item. I can put it in the same pocket with keys or many other sharp items if that's what's most convenient in a given situation. There is indeed a cost at trying to preserve any carryable item in mint condition.)

> I also don't buy the hassle of using screen protectors.

They're not really for "micro scratches", though - they're for when you drop the phone or otherwise catch the front with something heavy/sharp/etc. My last two screen protectors have saved my screen from damage - considering that's £30 of outlay compared with ~£270 for a new iPhone 7 screen each time, I would say they're vital.

This sort of strategy could also have a high opportunity cost in terms of one's time, depending on the value of your time. But it might make sense for someone who gets enjoyment out of the strategy itself, even if the upside is only saving a few hundred bucks.

It's similar to why I make DIY furniture for my home. While the cost of materials is lower than what I would pay for a finished piece at a furniture studio, that doesn't account for the time and effort I put into it. But for me the effort itself is a net positive that it's hard to put a price on, just like the joy of arbitraging iPhones might be for this person.

Honestly, the resale value for damaged iPhones is still pretty good. Even if the screen is cracked, you can get a few hundred dollars.

I just searched for "iPhone 7 cracked screen" on eBay and filtered by completed listings, and there are quite a few that sold in the past few days for over $300 after receiving quite a few bids.

I always take a 2-year contract. About one week before the new iPhone launch (and, conveniently, the end of my contract term), I sell my iPhone. My 6S with 64GB went this weekend for €450, which was the asking price. Next week I won't be able to get that price since there's a new model.

I'm using a cheap, Chinese Android phone for 2 weeks every other year to bridge the gap between selling my iPhone and getting the new one. I have to say: cheapy Android phones are getting better. Sure, they're nowhere near the quality and experience of iPhones, but my Doogee Shoot 2 ($54,-) performs pretty decently and actually shoots some nice photos in daylight. I won't be converting anytime soon (show me an Android phone that performs like new after 2 years of everyday usage, without lagging) but it does make me wonder sometimes that the price difference can't really be justified...

> I always take a 2-year contract. About one week before the new iPhone launch (and, conveniently, the end of my contract term), I sell my iPhone. My 6S with 64GB went this weekend for €450, which was the asking price. Next week I won't be able to get that price since there's a new model.

I usually sell my iPhones and iPads after the new one has been delivered, preferably on the first weekend of the month. In my experience you won't have to expect a significant decrease in value after release. People know there's a new iPhone - it's not a surprise, even for non-tech audiences, and people will spent accordingly.

However the supply will be larger after release, no doubt, but one could argue that this applies to size of target audience as well. People will look for second hand iPhones after release.

In any case the resale value of Apple products is nothing short of amazing.

I've had nexuses for the last 5 years and have been very happy and certainly not spent the sums you're alluding to.

Unfortunately the nexus is now no more, it's the Pixel which just seems like a rip-off, if I'm going to spend that kind of money I'll go back to iPhones.

Consider Mi A1 - it's Google's android and more than decent hardware for 200 eur.

http://www.mi.com/in/mi-a1/android-one/

Wow, quite impressive specs for 200 eur! Also 2 years of OS updates minimum.

Glad I'm not alone in disgust for the Pixel and mourning the loss of the Nexus line.

Even the much touted camera on the Pixel sucks. Worse, GPS is frequently off by as much as a mile from your actual location but accuracy is claimed to be <50ft, when it claims 200-1000ft accuracy is when it's actually the correct location.

This is common with high end DSLR's too. A way to always have the latest kit for a relatively low ongoing cost.

You've got to have the folding to start the ball rolling in the first place though.

You could save even more money by getting a cheaper Android phone and treating it just as carefully. The problem you described has nothing to do with the brand.

The resale value of a 2 year old Android phone is much lower that a 2 year old iPhone, even it spent those two years sealed in its original box.

I don't think anyone sane would buy a two year old android, that would probably push you back to 5.1 for most phones.

I bought an LG G3 for $80. It's running Android 7 and still getting security updates. It will probably be a couple years before it is out of date.

Yep, i sold an iPhone 6 plus 16gb for $550 yesterday. I couldn't believe it. It was just the asking price to start the haggle. Try get more than $50 for a 3 year old samsung.

Where did you sell it?

That is actually incredible. I won't get more than 275GBP for my 128GB!

If you break/lose your phone it's your problem, dude. My Androids are lasting ~4 years each.

With security patches?

My OnePlus One has Android 7.1.2 and August security patch (thanks to Paranoid Android)

Mine is still on stock but maybe now is the time to learn how to flash and all. Would you recommend doing it also in terms of camera and stability or is it rather experimental for testing new Android features / proof of concept etc.?

I keep my device updated thanks to these custom builds. I use them as my daily driver, totally recommended.

Well, I just saw this on Android Police:

agujeronegro

Hey, Samsung released July security patch to Samsung Galaxy S4!!! We are talking about April 27 of 2013. That's 4 years and a half! https://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/galaxy-s4/GT-I9505/NEE/d...

Of course it's my problem. I have to come up with strategies for dealing with it.

Thanks goodness iphones can't be lost or broken

It's more like... I've been getting better at not losing or breaking them as time goes by, and I've been investing in better cases/screen protectors. So I don't ruin them myself like I used to. But the damn things still break on their own. My last one, an LG G3, kept on having screen problems. I had the digitizer replaced once, had the whole phone replaced once, and it was having problems again when I gave up on it.

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